


Clarification, Please

by fabularum



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Co-workers, F/M, Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29490138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabularum/pseuds/fabularum
Summary: Hermione Granger was dating.No, scratch that.Hermione Granger was serial dating.And it was slowly killing Draco Malfoy.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 36
Kudos: 241





	Clarification, Please

Hermione Granger was dating.

No, scratch that.

Hermione Granger was serial dating.

And it was slowly killing Draco Malfoy.

***

“Gods, tell me why I do it?”, Hermione groaned as she dropped herself into the chair in his small office, “why do I insist on torturing myself with these dates?” 

Draco sighed internally and leaned back in his chair. “Another rough one?”, he asked as he pushed a cup of coffee across his desk. This was their little routine that had developed over the past few months. Every Monday, Draco would pick up a coffee just the way Hermione preferred (lots of cream and sugar to make some sweet monstrosity) and she would come by to complain about her latest dating mishap.

It was no secret around the Ministry of Magic that Hermione Granger had been on a truly astonishing string of first dates. Ever since her breakup with Ron Weasley earlier that year, she had decided to take on the eligible wizards of London.

The trouble was, none of them turned into second dates.

“Who was the lucky man this time?”

“Ernie. Sodding. McMillan.”

Draco winced, “From the Department of Transportation? The Hufflepuff?” 

Granger nodded and rolled her eyes, “I heard enough about Floo powder pricing to last a lifetime.”

“No sympathy, Granger. You walked right into that one. A date with a badger?”, Draco scoffed while inwardly cheering that this would obviously not be the wizard to sweep Granger off her feet. 

“Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel? Declare my spinsterhood? Get another cat, maybe a new bathrobe,” she pondered, sipping her coffee thoughtfully. 

“Throw in a pair of fuzzy slippers and I say you’re halfway there,” he offered. She snorted into her coffee before standing up and giving him a wave as she left. 

So while it was no secret that Hermione Granger was blazing her way through the dating scene of Wizarding Britain, there was one piece of information that was totally confidential.

Draco Malfoy was totally in love with her.

***

It was easy to remember when Draco had begun to see Hermione Granger as an ally. He had been working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a Dark Artifact Analyst for less than a week, still learning his way around the office. He had seen Granger in the halls and traded polite nods. However, he was wholly unsure how to approach the witch, given their tumultuous history. But then they were assigned to the same case, researching illegal portkeys that had been magicked to send unwitting Muggles to remote locations. Some pureblood’s sick idea of a joke, he and Granger had been given the task of tracking the portkeys and their creator. 

Draco had found a trace on a silver spoon that had been charmed to Portus the target to a deserted island in the Indian Ocean. Needing to share this information with Granger, he gathered the necessary parchments and headed to her office. Pausing outside the door, he heard the end of a heated conversation.

“It’s not right, Hermione!”, a male voice said loudly, “he is a sodding Death Eater. He should not be working here. And he definitely should not be partnered with you.”

Ah, the Weasel. 

“Ronald. That is enough. Not only do you have no say over who is hired by the Ministry or who I work with, but you also have zero room to continue to hold on to a schoolyard grudge. Malfoy has been nothing but professional.”

What was this? Granger defending him?

“Schoolyard grudge? Blimey, Hermione! He is an actual criminal!”

Technically, an exonerated criminal.

“Who was pardoned of all charges and then hired by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as my coworker. End of story, end of your complaints,” Granger said sharply.

“Fine, Hermione. Have it your way,” Weasley huffed, “but don’t expect any sympathy when he pulls his poncey pureblood shite on you.” 

Draco flattened himself against the wall as the redhead stormed out of Granger’s office, slamming the door open and stomping down the hallway.

“You can come in now, Malfoy.”

Clearing his throat, Draco entered her office, “Um, thanks for that. I didn’t realize you knew I was out here.”

“I guess I never quite lost my war senses,” Granger gave a wry smile, “anyway, I hope you know that you do indeed have a place here. You’ve done great work so far.”

Draco nodded, “I appreciate that. And for what it’s worth, I am at a loss to properly express my deep regret and sorrow for what transpired between us during our time at Hogwarts and during the war. I hope my work here can start to prove that to you.”

“Noted. I think it will take time, but I’m willing to move forward if you are,” they exchanged polite smiles and from that point forward, he and Granger had formed a solid allyship that turned into friendship overtime.

It began with her making sure he was included in departmental decisions about new avenues of Dark Artifact research and consistently consulting him about new cases. In short, she was the first person in the department to treat him like a person and not a Death Eater.

Once they realized they made a great working team, they began to split research responsibilities for the department. That led to meetings alone that then led to staying late to finish work and that then led to ordering dinner. Soon they found themselves laughing over boxes of takeout at least once a week. Draco learned that Granger absolutely needed a sweet after lunch and started stocking them in his office. And she figured out that he despised the tea supplied by the Ministry so she would grab him a cup on her way in some mornings.

So while the progression from enemies to acquaintances to friends was easy for Draco to map over the past two years, what was harder to pinpoint was when Draco had fallen in pathetic, totally unrequited love with Hermione. 

He suspected that it had begun when she began dating after her breakup. When he overheard her telling Susan Bones about her first date since Weasley, Draco felt a fire of jealousy light in his stomach. The thought of Granger spending a romantic evening with another man filled Draco with such a deep sense of envy that he had to lock himself in his office for the remainder of the afternoon to cope.

The only thing that kept him afloat at this point was Granger’s inability to stomach anyone for a second date. Draco held onto that fact like a life raft, aware that at any moment he could sink into despair.

***

Friday morning, Draco stuck his head inside her office, “Fancy takeout tonight, my place? We can even drag out that telly you made me buy.” 

Draco had been introduced to both Muggle takeout food and television when he and Granger had forged their strange friendship. She insisted that he needed to enter the modern world by learning to enjoy sushi and trashy reality tv. And Draco was inclined to agree with pretty much anything she said. Whenever Granger did not have a date, weekend nights often found the pair with takeout containers on one of their respective couches. 

It was a rare form of punishment indeed to find himself so squarely in the friend zone with Granger.

“First of all, I didn’t make you buy it. It’s a mode of entertainment that any self-respecting 20 something should have. And second of all, I can’t. I have a date,” she finished crisply.

Draco’s stomach dropped. He had watched her go on at least a dozen first dates over the past six months. While none of them turned into anything more, he was nervous that one of them was going to stick.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” he questioned, deciding to up the self-torture another notch.

“Oh! That’s the best part,” she beamed at him, “One of your old Hogwarts friends!”

Draco raised a pale eyebrow at her, “Which one?”

“Theodore Nott.”

***

Come Monday, Draco was prepared for a disgruntled Granger to drag into his office and complain about her newest dating disaster. He placed her coffee on the corner of his desk and sat down to catch up on the latest report about a cursed necklace that had been discovered in Wales. After a bit, he realized that Granger was quite late for her normal Monday morning gripe session.

Deciding to make sure she was ok, he headed down the hall to her office. Knocking quietly, he waited to hear the soft, “Come in,” and opened her door. Leaning against the frame, he saw the witch in question sitting in front of piles of open books and parchment. She looked up and flashed him a quick smile.

“Making any headway with that case out of Wales?” he asked, taking a seat in one of the open chairs opposite her desk.

“Hmm, working on it. It’s been difficult to track the signature on that necklace.”  
“I’ll bring by some research I’ve been working on later,” Draco offered, “so, how was your date this weekend? Did Nott bore you with a complete recitation Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms or some other business? You missed your Monday morning post-date counseling.”

“Oh, um,” she blushed, “actually I didn’t have any formal grievances to file this morning,” clearing her throat, “Theo was actually quite lovely. I might have actually found a contestant worth date number two.”

“Lovely?” Draco teased, “We are talking about the same Theo Nott, right?”

Granger rolled her eyes, “If you want the details, he was smart and funny. Excellent manners, of course. And we didn’t once run out of things to talk about.”

And just like that, Draco’s carefully crafted wall of feigned indifference cracked. Barely containing his irritation, he stood up quickly, “Well obviously you no longer need my counseling services then,” and sarcastically added, “I wish the two of you every happiness. See you around, Granger.”

She sat there, open-mouthed at his curt tone and abrupt departure. But Draco did not care at that moment. Everything he had dreamed of was slipping away and he felt powerless to stop the flood of his emotions unraveling.

*** 

Over the next two weeks, Draco experienced the unique persecution of watching Hermione Granger start her...something with Theo Nott. 

It started with seeing her come into the office with a soft smile playing on her lips. Draco knew from that Granger had been on at least four more dates with Theo. They had been to dinner, the ballet, and spent a long afternoon at Flourish and Blotts. And Draco had been forced to hear the excited chatter about the budding relationship as news of the new couple spread throughout the Ministry. 

Next were the flowers. Theo, being a proper pureblood wizard, was well versed in the art of gifting meaningful flowers. Asters for love, calla lilies for beauty. Draco doubted Granger understood the hidden meaning behind the bouquets, but he knew that Theo was making his intentions clear.

Granger must have made her sweet tooth known because at least twice, Nott had sent over large containers of ice cream from Fortescue's. Granger had failed to stop by Draco’s office for her post-lunch sweet those days and he felt the absence most severely. 

That could be me. I could be the one making her smile, sending her flowers, dropping off her favorite sweets.

But Draco knew that it was his own cowardice and insecurity that had put him on the sidelines, forcing him to watch as his friend courted the witch he fancied. So he did the only thing he knew how to do. He withdrew from his friendship with Granger almost completely. He sent over research notes via departmental memo instead of dropping by her office several times a day. Claiming previous engagements, he stopped staying late at work with her. And they went a solid three weeks without a single night of takeout on his couch. 

Draco could see the confused looks that she sent his way every time they crossed paths. He knew that he had hurt her with his unexplained disengagement of their friendship. In truth, he was hurt too. And missed her to distraction. But he did not know how to handle this new situation and he relied on his old Slytherin trait of self-preservation at all costs, even his own heart. 

***

“Hey, Malfoy! Wait up!”, Draco turned to see Hermione scurrying across the lobby to the lifts. Sighing, he held the lift door open for her. She slid in and gave him a winning smile, “Thanks, morning! How was your weekend?”

Draco merely grunted in return. Horrible, painful, filled with jealous thoughts of you and Theo running off into the sunset. 

The lift reached their floor and Draco sprinted off and through the department to his office. He had nearly made it inside and was preparing to close the door when Hermione stuck her arm out and pushed her way inside.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake Malfoy, why have you been such an incomparable ass?”, she demanded. Her cheeks were flushed, curls fighting their way out of her bun, arms crossed in front of her, “I mean, you’re not exactly sunshine and rainbows most of the time, but it’s been excessive lately. Even for you. So for Merlin's sake, what is wrong with you?”

Granger practically crackled with fury.

Gods, she was perfect. 

“I thought we were at least friends before, but now you run in the opposite direction when you see me coming, make excuses to avoid spending time with me. And we haven’t gotten sushi together in weeks,” she fumed, “so tell me what the hell is wrong? What did I do? Why are you acting like this?”

When Draco did not answer, Granger threw her hands in the air and turned to leave. His mind scrambled for something, anything to say to stop her from walking out of his office and his life. 

Sod it all.

“I’m in love with you, you idiot!” 

Oh fuck. Oh no. Fuck fuck fuck. Why did he just scream that at her? 

Draco ran his hands through his hair and quickly wondered if he could cast a Disillusionment charm without Granger noticing. They both stood there, staring at each other with their chests heaving, for what felt like an eternity. 

Finally, in a quiet voice, “Did you mean it?”

Rubbing his hands over his face, he cursed internally at his pure stupidity. “Yes. No. Fuck. I don’t know.”

Hermione stood there, slightly out of breath, either from chasing him to his office or from the shock of his bold statement. Draco drew a deep breath and decided to be brave for once in his life, “I think I might have meant it.”

Draco leaned against his desk and hung his head. The quiet in his office was deafening. 

Draco cycled through the gentle letdown that would inevitably come next. 

Oh, well that’s very sweet but I only see you as a friend. I’m utterly besotted with that ass Theo Nott. I’m going to have his babies and we’ll live happily ever after while you die alone. 

Draco would nod his head and agree to remain friends. They would awkwardly wave at each other from across the room and make polite conversation at the coffee cart in the lobby. In short, it would destroy him.

So when he heard her step towards him and felt her place her small hands on each of his knees, he sucked in a sharp breath. When she stepped between his legs and placed those hands on his chest, his heart began to beat like a drum. And when she brought one hand up to his cheek to guide him to look at her, he knew that it was very likely that he had stopped breathing altogether.

“Draco,” she whispered, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“How could I?,” he shook his head glumly, “I never thought it was a possibility with you. And I’m...me. And then suddenly there was Theo. What could I say?”

“I ended things with Theo last weekend,” Granger’s brown eyes locked with his own. 

“Why?”, Draco felt his traitorous heart leap with hope. 

“He truly was lovely but something just never felt right,” Granger took a deep breath, “And if the time for spilling secrets has come, I suppose it’s my turn,” Draco’s breath caught in his throat as she continued, “to confess that I’ve wanted to be more than friends for quite some time.”

Draco was sure he had misunderstood her, that some wire had gotten crossed in his brain. There was no way that he was hearing her correctly. 

“I need you to say that again.”

“Draco Malfoy, I like you,” she rolled her eyes, “I like like you.”

“Again, I need more clarification, please.”

She huffed impatiently, “I don’t want to be just friends anymore. I want to go on dates with you and not leave at the end of our takeout nights and I definitely want to…”

He cut her off, pressing his lips firmly against hers. She let out a breathy little sigh before wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning her soft body into his. He slanted his lips over hers and brought one hand to her back and the other tangled itself in her curls. Granger’s soft little moan almost caused his legs to give out. His tongue swiped across her lips before she opened her mouth to him and deepened their kiss. Draco groaned when he felt her nip at his bottom lip and he wondered briefly if it was too early to discuss workplace shagging.

Drawing a shaky breath, Draco pulled back and looked down at her smiling face. “So just to clarify, you want to date? Date me. As in go out to dinner, hold hands, snog, oh, and we will most definitely be…”

Granger clamped her hand over his mouth and gave him an exasperated look. He grinned at her wickedly and she slowly nodded in agreement. 

“We’re doing this?”, he could not contain the grin sliding across his face.

“We’re doing this,” she smiled and grabbed his face for another long, slow kiss. 

***

Hermione Granger was dating Draco Malfoy. 

And he was absolutely fucking thrilled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for stopping by to read my first foray into fan fiction since middle school! 
> 
> This is a quick one shot just to test the waters. Please leave any comments or constructive criticism, I welcome it all!


End file.
